Calls for calm as Palestinian killing sparks rioting

A Palestinian teenager was kidnapped and killed Wednesday, apparently in revenge for the murder of three Israeli youths, prompting international calls for calm as violence flared in Jerusalem.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "despicable" killing, urging both sides "not to take the law into their own hands," while the family of one of the Israeli teens, still in mourning for their son, called the revenge murder a "horrendous act".

"I demand the Israeli government punish the killers if it wants peace between the Palestinian and the Israeli peoples," said Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

US Secretary of State John Kerry warned acts of vengeance would worsen an explosive situation.

"At this tense and dangerous moment, all parties must do everything in their power to protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not recrimination and retribution," said Kerry.

Eyewitnesses told AFP 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khder was seen being forced into a car by three Israelis in east Jerusalem.

And police confirmed a body had been found in a forest in Givat Shaul in west Jerusalem, although they refused to link the two incidents.

But DNA tests proved the body was that of the missing teenager, his father said.

"The body belongs to my son," Hussein Abu Khder told AFP, adding the cause of death was not immediately clear.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for justice over the "despicable act", while joining British Prime Minister David Cameron and the International Committee of the Red Cross in condemning the killing.

"At this critical time, the ICRC calls on all sides to stand unequivocally against the abduction and murder of civilians," said Red Cross president Peter Maurer. "The current spiral of violence, loss and suffering must stop now."

- Copycat kidnapping? -

The attack is widely believed to have been carried out in revenge for the kidnap and killing of three Israeli teenagers, with Israeli police raising the alert to the second highest level.

Soon after dawn, crowds of angry Palestinians gathered outside the teen's home in Shuafat, with violence erupting within hours and continuing for most of the day.

The Red Crescent said at least 65 people were hurt, three by live bullets. At least 35 people were injured by rubber bullets, including six journalists.

Shuafat's normally-bustling main road was littered with stones and the light rail service which passes through the neighbourhood was suspended.

- 'Death to Arabs' -

Tensions have soared across the region since June 12 when the three Israeli teenagers disappeared while hitchhiking in the West Bank. Their bodies were found on Monday, with Israel blaming Hamas and vowing to hit it hard.

Calls for revenge followed, with more than 200 Israelis rampaging through Jerusalem after they were laid to rest Tuesday, dragging people out of cars and chanting "Death to Arabs".

As the clashes raged in Shuafat, where the streets were littered with burning dumpsters and makeshift barricades, the only place of relative calm was the family home.

Suha Abu Khder, the mother of the slain Palestinian, sat in stunned silence, sometimes breaking down in tears in a room filled with loved ones.

A cousin of the teen, Ansam Abu Khder, said witnesses had written down the car's licence plate number and police were examining CCTV footage.

"We knew about Mohammed's kidnapping by three Israelis just before the dawn prayers. A witness saw them," he told AFP.

The family of 16-year-old Naftali Frenkel, one of the three murdered Israeli teenagers, condemned the Palestinian teen's death as a "horrendous act".

"There is no difference between Arab blood and Jewish blood. Murder is murder. There is no forgiveness or justification for any murder," they said in a statement.

But Hamas, accused by Israel of the triple killing, held Israel's government directly responsible for Wednesday's death, warning it: "You will pay the price for your crimes."

Meanwhile nine mortar rounds fired from Gaza hit southern Israel, the military said, adding it had targeted the source of the shells with an air strike.

The army also said its Iron Dome missile defence system had intercepted a rocket from Gaza.

The area has seen a surge of rocket fire in the past fortnight, with Israel striking 34 Hamas targets in Gaza overnight Monday, as it cracked down on the Islamist movement's West Bank network with a series of arrests.